New York Video Stores

[Tom Amolad]

With Kim's disappearing, and its video collection moving to Sicily, is there any remotely good video store left in New York? I don't suppose anyone else rents non-Region-1 DVDs, do they? Any place still have a decent collection of videotapes not yet on DVD?

[Antoine Doinel]

Maybe HerrS should open a video store

But in all seriousness, Evergreen Video on Carmine near 6th has a decent selection. I haven't been there in years, but my ex-gf and I used to rent from there quite often.

[Bete_Noire]

To rent or to purchase? It's only Kim's rental library that is moving to Sicily. They're opening a new location on First Avenue that will be retail only.

Although honestly, even as a native NYer, I can't see too many advantages to buying DVDs in a store unless you only buy used and you want to check them out beforehand. I've found that e-retailers are actually easier to deal with when it comes to returns/refunds and very rarely have I had any problems when it comes to defective merchandise. I'd only stop by Kim's when I was in the area, had some time to kill, and felt like browsing. Even during their recent "sale," their prices still couldn't match most e-retailers. Maybe I'm just not much of a consumer, but I find the whole shopping in-person experience to be highly overrated.

[HerrSchreck]

Evergreen closed a while ago. Like anything else having to do with the eclectic side of the arts, there's not much left in NYC and getting blanker and blanker bby the minute. There's still a Kims on the West Side (Christopher Street?), and as mentioned on the east side Kims is opening a retail only operation. As far as rentals go, Netflix has pretty much triumphed.

[mbowmanh]

You coiuld try the Academy (or Academy Records?) on 12th Street, I think, between 5th and 6th Ave.s. They deal mainly with used records but also sometimes have a good selection of DVDs as well.

[LQ]

Is Two Boots Video still around? I went there a few times a couple of years ago; it had a decent selection.

[tavernier]

You coiuld try the Academy (or Academy Records?) on 12th Street, I think, between 5th and 6th Ave.s. They deal mainly with used records but also sometimes have a good selection of DVDs as well.

It's 18th Street between 5th and 6th.

[HerrSchreck]

Two Boots is still around-- I think.

[davebert]

Evergreen closed a while ago. Like anything else having to do with the eclectic side of the arts, there's not much left in NYC and getting blanker and blanker bby the minute. There's still a Kims on the West Side (Christopher Street?), and as mentioned on the east side Kims is opening a retail only operation. As far as rentals go, Netflix has pretty much triumphed.

The Christopher Street location could definitely use some business - the buzzards are hovering, and I'm not sure to what degree the situation is still salvageable. They had a pretty nice BOGO 50% sale to push some of the sales stock a few months ago, and hours are decreased, as they really should have been for years now.

[HerrSchreck]

You still working there with the missus?

[davebert]

Thankfully, we've been gone for a while... I'm off pushing Michel Ocelot's Azur & Asmar around the country now. But I've still got plenty of friends there with the gossip, and stop in every few weeks. If they can just hold out until the new Noah's Arc film hits DVD, that could single-handedly save the store.

[mbowmanh]

You could try the Academy (or Academy Records?) on 12th Street, I think, between 5th and 6th Ave.s. They deal mainly with used records but also sometimes have a good selection of DVDs as well.

It's 18th Street between 5th and 6th.

Oops. Sorry. I live in Germany and was trying to remember. 18th is correct. Thanks.

[whaleallright]

Is TLA gone? I haven't been in NYC for years....

[Tom Amolad]

Is TLA gone? I haven't been in NYC for years....

Yeah, they cleared out a couple of years ago. I think the Philadelphia stores still exist though.

[LQ]

They do indeed.

[HerrSchreck]

Is TLA gone? I haven't been in NYC for years....

Both TLA and NYC are no longer here.

[Perkins Cobb]

I've been exploring for Netflix backstops in the post-Mondo Kim's era. Cinema Nolita in Little Italy and the last surviving Kim's on Christopher Street in the West Village are both decent little boutique video stores with a good catalog of DVDs and some VHS.

But no imports, no bootlegs, and no musty shelves of ancient OOP videotapes ... in other words, none of the elements a brick and mortar store needs in order to be useful for cinefiles, and not superfluous in relation to rental by mail.

[HerrSchreck]

I said it before and I'll say it again: I'm glad I'm not a kid today in NY. The forces of cleanliness and corporate order (and blank sterile real estate) have won.

Sigh... NYC usedta be so badass.....

[Bete_Noire]

I said it before and I'll say it again: I'm glad I'm not a kid today in NY. The forces of cleanliness and corporate order (and blank sterile real estate) have won.

Sigh... NYC usedta be so badass.....

Um, the closing of Kim's and other video stores has little to do with "the forces of cleanliness and corporate order." I mean, it's not like they were the target of city renovation efforts due to their unseemly appearances and crime rings. It has to do with the people of NY (such as myself) abandoning them for more convenient options. And on a slightly related note, the security guards at Kim's were about 1000x more churlish and had a bigger chip on their shoulder than ANY cop I've EVER encountered in my twenty-one years of existence.

[bearcuborg]

Is TLA gone? I haven't been in NYC for years....

Yeah, they cleared out a couple of years ago. I think the Philadelphia stores still exist though.

Yup, I work there. They closed the Art Museum store though... Also, to be honest...our prices suck.

[HerrSchreck]

I said it before and I'll say it again: I'm glad I'm not a kid today in NY. The forces of cleanliness and corporate order (and blank sterile real estate) have won.

Sigh... NYC usedta be so badass.....

Um, the closing of Kim's and other video stores has little to do with "the forces of cleanliness and corporate order." I mean, it's not like they were the target of city renovation efforts due to their unseemly appearances and crime rings. It has to do with the people of NY (such as myself) abandoning them for more convenient options. And on a slightly related note, the security guards at Kim's were about 1000x more churlish and had a bigger chip on their shoulder than ANY cop I've EVER encountered in my twenty-one years of existence.

"Um", I'm not talking about Kim's or video stores-- I was responding to the bigger conversation implied in the preceding post. I'm getting expansive and misty talking about the city in sum-- the forces of cleanliness and corporate order have little to do with the rising and falling of the fortunes of Mr. Fricking Kim by himself.. nor is he a sympathetic enough example for me to want to get real misty for. But if you look at the city after the disappearing of bookstores, videostores, small rock clubs, record stores, individually owned drugstore pharamacies, coffee shops, etc, you'll see that a pattern is emerging-- conglomerates are winning. If you as a 21 yr old buyer want to take all the credit for a process that began before you were born, go right ahead.

Btw the guards there (we talking creaky old Momma Methadone on the second floor? She was sweeter than molasses) were always nice, it's the knuckleheads behind the counters that won Rudest Service In NYC year after year after year. The guards were MOSTLY hardworking west Africans.

If they have bigger chips on their shoulders than any cop you've "EVER encountered in your 21 yrs of existence" (lol) well then kid you need to be thankful you haven't gotten yourself arrested. Do yourself a favor and stay that way.

[bearcuborg]

the guards there (we talking creaky old Momma Methadone on the second floor? She was sweeter than molasses) were always nice, it's the knuckleheads behind the counters that won Rudest Service In NYC year after year after year. The guards were MOSTLY hardworking west Africans.

If they have bigger chips on their shoulders than any cop you've "EVER encountered in your 21 yrs of existence" (lol) well then kid you need to be thankful you haven't gotten yourself arrested. Do yourself a favor and stay that way.

Agreed, the guards were alright. Most of the staff hated their job and it showed in their service. Hey, I'm sorry you kids didn't light the world on fire, but don't take it out on me you losers.

[Perkins Cobb]

The guards at Kim's might not have been outrageously surly, but their invasive presence was an insult to customers and one of the reasons I avoided Kim's off and on for years. (A fairly minor reason out of many, though.)

TLA was pretty worthless: high prices, not actually a very good selection, and hopelessly disorganized.

Evergreen Video, on the other hand, was a real loss, and helped me to keep from putting many hundreds of dollars into Mr. Kim's shifty, grubby pockets.

[exte]

I'm from NJ, and one horrible experience I had was when I brought a mess of dvds with me and the buyer didn't buy a single one. Just totally didn't care about any of them even though they were mainstream. It wasn't like I was going to run out of the store with the money - I was going to put it right back into the store. I remember I left the store so angry that day...

[bearcuborg]

^FYE buys anything. They're essentially a fence for shoplifters.